Thursday, April 28, 2016

Caption: "Young immigrants happy to be in their new homeland of America just in time for the Passover holiday," 1953. Records of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. YIVO Archives. Photo by Mike Zwerling.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Hirshel. A Gut Moed.Slowly, but surely new trends are shifting the chasidic paradigm. A בן אדמו"ר from the most extreme chasidus - שומר אמונים - composes a song with a guitar and a cool background. Wheat fields and a מי השילוח. There is some acting talent in that family.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Recollections of The Belzer and Satmar Rebbes ... The Yoka Rov recalls with exactitude how in 1952 he told The Satmar Rov not to print the ויואל משה saying: "Do you want to play into the hands of Ben Gurion
by curtailing the Aliyah of Shomrei Torah to Eretz Yisroel?" Then again, why should he listen to a young Oberlandishe Rov in his 20's at the time?

The Hagadah commences with shame and he ends with praise ...
Why are we starting with shame?
Normally a nation would pride itself with a glorious past
not with disparaging remarks.
We are not to remind the convert of his checkered past.
The Maharal points out that in order for a person to ascertain his
current position
he must look into his past from where he came from.
This is an integral part of Hakoras haTov, simple gratitude.
A third of the Jewish people were decimated 70 years ago.
Today we are resuscitated in our own land with the language of our ancestors.
What a contrast to the abyss we came from.
This is a clear and open miracle of HaShem.
Our physical and spiritual revival manifests itself both
on an individual as well as on a national level.

Monday, April 18, 2016

A recently-discovered letter dated 24 Nissan, 5723. This letter is not in the Igros Kodesh, and not in any English publication either. as far as I understand. The addition of the word "some" in the Rebbe's handwriting (paragraph four) is worth a million dollars. The foregoing of some of life's pleasures... לעילוי נשמת מרת רחל בת ר' אשר זעליג יאהרצייט י"א ניסן. Box.com link

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Ya gotta feel for the Natruna people, those "Neturei Karta Lite" who would love for the State of Israel to go away, but they keep from publicly meeting with the Ahmedenijads of the world and waving Palestinian flags. So they have no real way of doing away with the State, היל"ת. So they put ads in papers "distancing" themselves from Israel and the IDF. nu, nu. They also have a telephone line where you can call in and hear speeches and interviews that speak of the evils of Israel and teach you VaYoel Moshe. In short it's a Satmar front group. Here they found a Jew in France who speaks Yiddish with a French accent and who tells people that it's all good in France. No cause for concern. There's even a spiritual renaissance going on among French Jews. France has a rich history of Jewish growth and will continue to be a haven for Jews. So no need to panic and make aliya. Besides, we all know that it's MORE dangerous there... Maybe he's a Novardikker and sees the good in everything. Or maybe his love for France is מעבירו על דעתו. I wonder why he won't give his real/full name...

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Not everything is necessarily a chiddush or a pirsum rishon, but we're keeping the burners going, at a simmer, at least. Keeps you awake amd also helps take the mind off work a bit. We'll keep this design for now.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

A recent article in Kfar Chabad magazine - (Yes! They still publish!) - where an eynikel remembers his zeide. Also, some bonus pictures, courtesy of Lubavitch Archives. Here was a Chossid who stayed behind in Russia, lived a life of Torah and Chassidus until his last day, and raised a beautiful Chassidic family under those circumstances.

Press Release: In a new fascinating book, a Lubavitcher in Boro Park, Rabbi Chaim Dalfin, author and Chasidic historian, reveals mysteries about his 28 years living as a Chabad Chossid in the Chasidic neighborhood of Boro Park. Traditionally, Chabad Chasidim live in Crown Heights and many other Chasidic groups live in Boro Park and Williamsburg. Rabbi Dalfin shares his childhood experiences, the struggles, challenges and joys in a most humorous, yet, telling way. He has two entire chapters about two of Boro park’s most interesting places. One, the world famous Shomrei Shabbos shul at 13th Avenue corner 53rd Street. This shul isn’t just another shul. it’s the world’s most used shul, with a twenty-four hour soup kitchen, services from 5AM to 3AM and attracts all kinds of people including people who find peace and solace in the shul.

Monday, April 11, 2016

On the advice of a long time graphics guy we changed to a black background and white text.. [oops! he said white background and black text! what do I do now?!] He says it's most readable/legible. Easiest on the eyes. What do you, the readers, think? In the meantime I'll use that as my guiding light; try to keep it black on white, but adding a little color to the background, etc. [ UPDATE: NOT WORKING FOR ME. GOING BACK TO WHAT WORKED FOR ME UNTIL NOW.]

Hirshel: As you know Reb Dovid Soloveitchik is sitting shiva after the passing of his brother, Reb Meir. The obsession that the good old days were great, makes people talk nonsense. Pictured is Reb Dovid Soloveitchik talking at Nichum Avielim about his younger brother. The "Hapeles" people, led by Shaya Wein, son of, milk it as a bogus interview for them. As if that justifies their existence - that Reb Dovid speaks to them. In the picture you see also Tuvia Freund of the Hamodia, so obviously he didn't sit down and talk to HaPeles. They claim, and one can assume they're twisting his words, that daas torah can only be had from from newspapers. Wink, wink, that means them, of course. What a sham! how detrimental to his image! He's telling them that in old Yerushalayim life was great, even the Jews that were not on the same page with us - i.e. Brisk - were Yerai Shomaim and Talmidei Chachomim; today there is nothing. I guess the 1000's of poor talmidim that learn in Mir is nothing, the whole Mizrachi/Dati Leumi/Charda"l world has no yerei shomayim. As if he has statistics. By the end of this week there will be a denial published somewhere, or maybe just posters in Yerushalayim/Bnei Brak.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

1) Reb Moshe'nyu of Boyan-Cracow; 2) R' Elimelech MM Landa, Strikover Rebbe; 3) Reb Shlome'le Eiger of Lublin; 4) Mazowecki, der Minsker Shochet. The photo was apparently taken in Vilna. #4 is based on the captions at the source, I have no knowledge either way. - Yad Vashem Photo

Thursday, April 7, 2016

This is the העברי weekly that was published in NY. It took them some time - from 2 Nissan to Rosh Chodesh Av - to get the information... Or maybe they were trying to figure out how to report on it? After all, he wasn't their greatest fan, and a Chassidishe Rebbe to boot. Not what Bar-Ilan was looking to fill his pages with... So he did the bare minimum. Nu, nu. Sunday iy"h is ב' ניסן.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

The narrative by the Hungarian chareidim is that celebrating a birthday is almost prohibited, since it's obviously "Chukas Hagoi." Then we have the chazal of Mutav Sheloi Nivreh. But the more you delve in to it, the more you realize the list of Gedolim that did participate or celebrate the Yom Holedes is quite long. From the great Hungarian Ish Mesorah the Ksav Sofer to the Lithuanian Chofetz Chaim, and then put the Ruzhiner/Viznitzer Rebbes into the mix. What you have is a list that spans the spectrum. Of all the gedolim I was shocked to see that the Satmar Ruv participated in an annual celebration from one of his philanthropists, Reb Yisroel Zupnick, and received a nice sum at the Melava Malka/party. $72,000, to be exact. We see here how the protagonist Jacobowitz liked these kind of fundraisers, since he didn't need to bring his own checkbook, Zupnick was taking care of the bill... It seems that the Baal Divrei Yoel didn't see the party and his participation as a contradiction to his old shtetel mentality, that which he worked tirelessly to refurbish on US soil...

Monday, April 4, 2016

Take a look at this picture: We see the Munkatcher Rov standing here כשושנה בין החוחים, talking to what seems like Government officials. The year is 1935. Actually it's President Edvard Benes. I assume they conversed in either Czech, Slovak or Hungarian. Or maybe German. Where are all the handlers? the Askoonim? The hoyz bochurim. The Gabboyim? Nowhere to be found. The Roov was all by himself. Did his own talking. No middlemen to interfere or to "explain" what the Rov is saying. Today every 2 bit politician that's running for city council or assembly comes to the Rabbonim and Rebbes and the room is full. The American-born Rebbe'le plays dumb,, or puts on a heavy accent, and some guy in cufflinks and a rolled up beard 'splains to the the Rebbe/Roov what the man is saying.חדש ימינו כקדם

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Received via e-mail:An answer to blogger hirshel tzig's email. Ha-gra הגר׳א. The Yemenite children which the state kidnapped.... Why the blogger is a goat and not a sheep... Had gadya

[what this is referring to is an email I received from youtuber "yoshcC" who regularly uploads recordings, both audio and video, from one Rabbi Daniel Caplan. A Rabbi who lives in Eretz Yisroel but has a heavy Midwestern twang to his English. Looks like a shtikkel Brisker, if you ask me. Anyway, I recently got an email where he sent me a link to a YouTube clip where he blasted the State of Israel and its war on Torah Jewry, or something to that effect. ["The state of israel's war against hashem"] he called it. I usually don't respond to the emails - I'll watch/listen to the clips if I have the time, but most of the time I don't respond to the e-mail. By the way Yosh9c was the one who sent me the piece about the Erlau'er Rov and the T'cheyles. I must've been in a mood, so I asked Yosh9c if Rabbi Caplan takes any money from the Israeli Government. To which he responded: "Even the satmar rebbe זצ'ל allowed to take money from the medina (individuals, not מוסדות) Rav Caplan used to take child support money." That was the end of that. Or at least that's what I though. Until today, almost 4 weeks later. When this arrives in my email inbox. I have listened toonly about 20 seconds of this clip, so I DO NOT KNOW what Rabbi Caplan says about me here. The post heading is what his subject line was in his e-mail. I imagine that either YoshcC or Rabbi Caplan, or both, are commenters on the blog, at least when it comes to the hot topic of Zionism and the SOI.

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About Me

א יונגערמאן אין עולם הזה trying to do what's right. The purpose of this blog was to provide a counter opinion to the Chabad bashing that is so prevalent in blogosphere. I hope I've accomplished that objective. This is the blog for you if you have a decent knowledge of Jewish history and current events.